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GEOTHERMAL: Texas is emerging as a hotspot for geothermal energy exploration, with scores of former oil industry workers and executives seeking to use their knowledge of geology, drilling, and extraction to tap into a new energy source. (Texas Tribune)
OFFSHORE WIND:
OIL & GAS:
PIPELINES: A Virginia couple who have fought the Mountain Valley Pipeline for a decade talk about the grief, fear, and anger of having to live next to the project for the last six years. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
POLITICS: A bill awaiting signature from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would ban offshore wind energy, relax natural gas pipeline rules, and eliminate most mentions of climate change from existing state laws. (Grist)
GRID: Texas’ grid operator says it underestimated how fast San Antonio would grow, leaving the region with transmission issues that “could lead to cascading outages” and put the statewide grid at risk. (San Antonio Express-News)
SOLAR:
OVERSIGHT: A bill awaiting signature by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp would extend the length of state utility regulators’ six-year terms by another two years. (Union Recorder)
TRANSPORTATION: Drivers of fuel-efficient and electric vehicles in Virginia say they are being penalized with higher vehicle registration fees. (WAVY)
INDUSTRY:
COMMENTARY: In a “reality check” on small nuclear reactors, a Virginia editor says the best site for one is likely at an existing nuclear power plant, but that it’s up to utilities and regulators — not the governor — to decide. (Cardinal News)
GEOTHERMAL: Geothermal power could help plug solar and wind power’s intermittency gaps, but experts say first scientists and developers need to unlock next-generation technologies that make it easier and cheaper to harness the earth’s heat. (Canary Media)
ALSO: Texas is emerging as a hotspot for geothermal energy exploration, with scores of former oil industry workers and executives seeking to use their knowledge of geology, drilling, and extraction to tap into a new energy source. (Texas Tribune)
CLEAN ENERGY:
CLIMATE:
OIL & GAS:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
STORAGE: The U.S. added 4,235 MW of new energy storage capacity in the last quarter of 2023, more than doubling additions in the previous quarter. (Utility Dive)
OFFSHORE WIND: New London, Connecticut, residents welcome federal incentives for offshore wind facilities, saying the first wave of wind workers are already boosting local businesses. (WTNH)
GRID: Grid operators want federal regulators to reject the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s proposed cold weather reliability standards for power plants, saying they will only lead to more costly reliability issues in the future. (Utility Dive)
OFFSHORE WIND: The Biden administration approves the 924 MW Sunrise wind project, slated to be built off Long Island, marking the administration’s seventh major wind project approval. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
UTILITIES: A New York state audit finds PSEG Long Island is inadequately managing the Long Island Power Authority, and that its deficient renewable energy and efficiency programs jeopardize its ability to meet state clean energy goals. (Newsday)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: New Jersey’s governor signs into law a new $250 annual registration fee for electric vehicles to patch a projected downturn in gas tax revenues. (New Jersey Monitor)
GRID:
STORAGE: Maine is on track to meet its goal of installing 300 MW of energy storage capacity by 2025, according to a report from state regulators. (Utility Dive)
COAL: The bridge collapse in Baltimore is blocking access to the U.S.’s second-largest port for coal exports and will likely disrupt the industry for at least six weeks. (E&E News)
SOLAR: A New York state senator introduces a bill that would increase the tax credit for homeowners to install rooftop solar to $10,000. (Spectrum News)
CLIMATE: Massachusetts’ climate chief discusses the state’s progress on installing heat pumps, and how rising temperatures are already affecting farming and other industries. (Berkshire Eagle)
LITHIUM: A Maine scientist argues a proposed rule change is adequate to allow lithium mining in the state, but environmental and health groups argue more safety considerations are needed. (Maine Morning Star)
HYDROPOWER: A western New York board game maker is awarded low-cost hydropower to support a $6.5 million expansion. (Buffalo News)
COMMENTARY:
SOLAR: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice vetoes a bill that would have extended electric utilities’ ability to buy or build solar projects beyond 2025, calling the legislation a threat to the state’s coal industry. (Dominion Post)
ALSO:
STORAGE: A company seeking to build pumped-hydro energy storage on old coal mining sites received $81 million in federal funding last week to develop a project in Kentucky that could deliver 287 MW of power for up to 8 hours. (Canary Media)
OFFSHORE WIND: A coalition led by a climate-denial think tank files a lawsuit seeking to stop construction of a Virginia offshore wind project, under the guise of protecting endangered whales. (Public Radio East)
OIL & GAS:
PIPELINES: Virginia regulators fine the Mountain Valley Pipeline $34,000 for another round of environmental violations, including damaging a wetland and dumping blast debris into a stream. (Roanoke Times)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
NUCLEAR: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants to explore the potential of small nuclear reactors to provide on-demand power to the state’s grid. (Texas Tribune)
COAL:
COMMENTARY: A former South Carolina utility regulator says he resigned this month to speak out about pending legislation that would drastically change oversight of investor-owned utilities by green-lighting a proposed natural gas plant despite many unanswered questions. (Post and Courier)
COAL: New Hampshire’s Granite Shore Power will shut down its last coal-fired power plants in 2025 and 2028, replacing them with solar, battery storage, and other clean energy and marking the end of coal in New England. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
OFFSHORE WIND:
UTILITIES: Hundreds of Massachusetts residents say they’ve unknowingly or mistakenly signed up to receive power from a competitive energy supplier after being promised rate savings, only to receive shockingly high bills months later. (Boston Globe/WBUR)
TRANSPORTATION: The New York City MTA board grants final approval to a congestion pricing plan aimed at curbing emissions and encouraging public transit use. (Gothamist)
SOLAR:
BIOFUEL: A $91 million contract to supply New York City’s heavy-duty vehicles with renewable diesel went to a company whose CEO has donated to the mayor’s campaign, despite never having secured more than a $7 million contract before, and other questionable business practices. (The City)
BUILDINGS: Amherst, Massachusetts, breaks ground on a new elementary school that will be equipped with heat pumps, solar panels and efficiency measures, making it the town’s first net-zero building. (Amherst Indy)
COMMENTARY: A Maine bill would give regulators the power to make sure utility profits line up with their performance and alignment with renewable power goals, a clean energy advocate writes. (National Resources Council of Maine)
CLEAN ENERGY: A new report ranks Illinois best in the country for state policy that supports community ownership of clean energy, while most states earn failing grades. (Canary Media)
PIPELINES:
COAL: A federal judge criticizes Ameren for drawn-out legal proceedings involving remedies for a Missouri coal plant that repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
RENEWABLES:
OIL & GAS: An Ohio agency has investigated 26 oil and gas incidents over the past five years in a single county, and more than 1,500 incidents statewide over the same period. (Athens County Independent)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
BIOFUELS: Minnesota biofuel advocates are still waiting on the Biden administration’s analysis of which fuel stocks could capture lucrative tax credits to produce sustainable jet fuel. (Star Tribune)
EFFICIENCY: At a stop in Madison, Wisconsin, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and residents tout the benefits of energy efficiency and federal clean energy investments. (Wisconsin Examiner)
COMMENTARY: Former Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Tim Ryan abandons his populist brand as a spokesperson for big oil and gas companies that are opposed to halting liquefied natural gas exports, a Sierra Club leader writes. (Columbus Dispatch)
Two bills that would expand the public’s access to shared solar in Virginia are awaiting a signature from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Shared solar is a program in which solar developers allow people who may be unable to install solar panels on their property to pay a subscription fee to receive energy from their facility. The facilities must generate no more than five megawatts.
The program was created for Dominion Energy customers in 2022 to give property owners whose roofs are unsuitable to hold panels, or who reside on lots that don’t garner enough sunlight to produce electricity, the option of using renewable energy.
But the program was limited to just 150 megawatts of electricity and required a minimum bill charge to cover the costs for distribution and transmission services; low-income subscribers were exempt from paying.
As a result, two years since the program was created, only low-income subscribers have signed up for the program.
This year’s bills would increase the number of projects allowable under the shared solar program in Dominion territory, and also add measures that could lower the minimum charge. A separate bill would create a shared solar program in Appalachian Power Company territory throughout Southwest Virginia.
Del. Rip Sullivan, who carried this year’s bill to change the Dominion program, said the initial iteration of the shared solar program brought “ solar developers who were not in Virginia into Virginia,” which created job and improved access to renewable energy sources in the state. Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, carried the companion to Sullivan’s bill, and the measure to start Appalachian Power’s program.
In his 2022 energy plan, Youngkin called for removing barriers to smaller solar projects being spread throughout the grid, “including shared solar.”
“The Governor is closely reviewing the legislation and budget language sent to his desk,” Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez said. “As stated in the All-American, All-of-the-Above Energy Plan, he believes in commonsense energy policy, including flexibility in our laws and regulations to meet the accelerated energy demands of Virginians and foster innovative energy solutions.”
According to filings with Dominion’s regulators at the State Corporation Commission, Dominion’s shared solar program reached capacity in May of last year.
The commission is allowed to expand the program by an additional 50 megawatts, once determining at least 30% of them, or 45 megawatts, have been claimed by low-income customers. But a case with regulators to decide that expansion is still pending.
Originally, this year’s bills would have expanded the program to allow for far more megawatts equal to 10% of Dominion’s peak load, but they were scaled back, allowing the program to increase to 200 megawatts. There’s also an opportunity for an additional energy boost.
Once they determine that customers have subscribed to 90% of that 200 megawatts, the commission can expand the program by an additional 150 megawatts, according to the legislation, with up to half of that expansion serving low-income customers.
“Where we ended up, we view it as incremental progress to continuing to move the market forward,” said Charlie Coggeshall, mid-atlantic regional director of the Coalition for Community Solar Access, a group that advocates for shared solar use. “It was a lot of negotiating to find a place where we were comfortable. It says a lot that we achieved a major compromise.”
The other change the bill would bring to the Dominion program is language that orders the SCC to “calculate the benefits of shared solar to the electric grid and to the Commonwealth and deduct such benefits from other costs,” to determine the minimum bill.
As it stands now, the minimum bill — typically $55.10 — is necessary, Dominion says, to cover the cost of the grid’s distribution and transmission services to deliver electricity from the shared solar facilities that may be miles away from the user.
Without the minimum bill, the shared solar subscribers see reductions in their bill from using renewable energy while other customers pay to maintain the grid, the utility has argued.
But that typical $55.10 amount is a barrier to people subscribing to shared solar since it will negate any possible energy savings, said Southern Environmental Law Center staff attorney Josephus Allmond, unless affluent people have the means for it, which is “certainly not the majority of Virginians.”
The bill also includes language to conduct an analysis of other benefits, including the renewable energy credits, or RECs, that the solar project developers will have to give to Dominion, which must purchase them to meet renewable energy portfolio standards in the Virginia Clean Economy Act.
A report from CSSA released ahead of the session found that the utility and ratepayers could see savings from an expanded shared solar program, in part, by reducing the need to build new generation sources.
“Also, solar energy produces few externalities like cancer, pollution, climate change,” Surovell said. “All those benefits need to be calculated into reducing the minimum bill.”
Though the bill passed out of the legislature, some opposition came from some lawmakers, like Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, who argued the new minimum bill calculation is “still shifting to the rate base benefits that are just impossible to quantify,” such as climate change.
Katharine Bond, Dominion vice president for public policy & state affairs, said in testimony on earlier versions of the bill the utility had a concern over seeing the projects in the first trench of the program getting completed before expanding it. But in a Feb. 9 Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, Bond stated the utility’s support for the bill, noting that the bill had language stating the SCC will determine shared solar participants ”pay their fare share and minimize the cost shift to non-participating customers.”
A workgroup to determine the amount and form of incentives for shared solar projects that can be built on rooftops, or on previously disturbed lands like former coal mines called brownfields is another provision that emerged this session. Bills separate from Sullivan and Surovell’s that would expand those incentives are now awaiting signature from the governor.
“We think these small projects are just what we should be looking at more to preserve prime farmland and forestland,” said Allmond in committee testimony.
The separate bill from Surovell creates an entirely new program for Appalachian Power Company with a cap of 50 megawatts.
Peter Anderson, director of state energy policy at the environmental nonprofit Appalachian Voices, echoed sentiments similar to Coggeshall in response to the bill’s passage.
“People in Southwest Virginia have already waited too long for access to shared solar, and the establishment of a program will provide proof of concept and something to build on,” Anderson said.
There will be a minimum bill in the Appalachian Power program, the amount of which the SCC will have to determine as it does with the Dominion program ,while including the new calculations. But one difference with the APCo program is that low-income customers are not exempt from that cost and will instead receive a 10% discount.
“We would have preferred a larger program and a minimum bill exemption in the new APCo program to really signal that every Virginian can benefit from these smaller, distributed solar facilities,” Anderson said. His group is aware of a number of APCo customers who are interested in the program, he said, as well as at least one nonprofit that will consider a subscription and local governments who have spoken up about the program.
Without the low-income exemption, Coggeshall said, “it just places all pressure on the minimum bill proceeding” to determine if subscribing is a viable option for participants, but his group is still excited by the progress.
Appalachian Power is “pleased” with the bill, utility spokeswoman Teresa Hall stated, adding the cost shifting was a concern for the company.
“The minimum bill is critical to ensure that shared solar participants pay for their share of the grid, so that these costs aren’t shifted to other ratepayers,” said Hall. “Ultimately, if the costs of clean energy initiatives aren’t fairly distributed we will not be able to achieve our goals.”
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.
OFFSHORE WIND: Federal ocean energy officials officially designate a 32 GW wind energy area in the Gulf of Maine that is 80% smaller than what was first marked as a potential leasing area and excludes fishing and lobstering areas. (Maine Public)
ALSO:
SOLAR:
GRID:
FOSSIL FUELS: A fatal Pittsburgh-area home explosion reopens emotional wounds for a nearby town where six people died in a separate gas-related explosion last year. (Trib Live)
TRANSIT: As Philadelphia’s transit agency considers significant regional rail cuts that threaten the independence of disadvantaged seniors along the city’s northwest Chestnut Hill line. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
WORKFORCE: Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island labor leaders hold a joint conference to push for better wages and working standards within offshore wind projects. (CT Examiner)
COMMENTARY: A New Jersey editorial board questions whether the state’s governor is getting in his own way of driving electric vehicle adoption. (Star Ledger)
SOLAR: Indiana’s utility-scale solar market rebounds from supply chain issues and interconnection delays with its strongest year yet in 2023. (WFYI)
UTILITIES: ComEd and Ameren Illinois file scaled back infrastructure spending plans after regulators rejected previous proposals to align with the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. (Capitol News Illinois)
NUCLEAR: A Minnesota nuclear plant is back to full power after an outage dragged on for nearly two months longer than expected and drew questions from state officials. (Star Tribune)
PIPELINES:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An Indiana Congress member wants the Biden administration to investigate the potential security risks of U.S. reliance on Chinese-made electric vehicles and battery components. (E&E News)
OHIO: An Ohio disciplinary board says the state’s former top utility regulator, who faces state and federal corruption charges, violated attorney ethics rules in his relationship with FirstEnergy. (Bloomberg Law, subscription)
WIND: A new study finds wind turbines have a negligible effect on property values, and the negative impact on homes close to wind turbines disappears within a decade. (CNN)
CLEAN ENERGY: Advocates urge the Biden administration to encourage manufacturers to revitalize domestic aluminum production to support the clean energy transition. (Canary Media)
FOSSIL FUELS: The National Park Service and a regional foundation announce that national parks around Lake Superior have begun efforts to transition park operations off fossil fuels. (Michigan Advance)
CLIMATE: The $10 million allocated to fund Minneapolis’ climate action plan includes $4.7 million for energy efficiency in buildings and $1.4 million for workforce training. (Minnesota Daily)
CLEAN TECH: A state-funded program in Minnesota is providing seed funding for clean energy startups to scale their technologies and help make the state economically competitive. (Star Tribune)
COMMENTARY: The executive director of the Sierra Club says the Line 5 pipeline trespasses on tribal land and is an environmental disaster waiting to happen. (Sun-Times)
COAL: The Intermountain Power Agency urges Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to veto legislation that would force the agency to sell its coal plant to the state to keep it operating beyond its scheduled retirement date, saying it could provoke a federal backlash. (Salt Lake Tribune)
TRANSPORTATION: Colorado researchers find electric scooters are the most efficient means of commuting for limiting life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. (Colorado Sun)
UTILITIES: New Mexico’s Supreme Court upholds regulators’ denial of a utility’s bid that would have allowed it to collect $5.2 million from ratepayers for exceeding mandated renewable energy targets. (Las Cruces Bulletin)
SOLAR: A food manufacturing company installs solar-powered microgrids at six of its California bakeries expected to offset about 20% of the facilities’ energy use. (Deli Market News)
CLEAN ENERGY: Washington state local officials urge the U.S. Energy Department to add clean industrial facilities and energy storage to its plans to develop solar at the Hanford nuclear site. (The Chronicle)
HYDROPOWER: An advocacy group’s study finds four Northwest hydropower dams targeted for removal emit 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent of methane annually, casting doubt on claims they provide clean energy. (E&E News, subscription; news release)
ENERGY STORAGE: A national lab identifies 1,800 sites in Alaska suitable for closed-loop pumped hydropower energy storage facilities. (news release)
OIL & GAS:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
NUCLEAR:
BIOFUELS: A Hawaii biofuel company expands its feedstock crops and considers developing a second refinery. (Hawaii Public Radio)
COMMENTARY: A former U.S. lawmaker urges Washington state regulators to help tackle climate change by expediting solar and wind development rather than hampering clean power based on faulty science. (Seattle Times)
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